Add numbers with 4 digits or more together

Part ofMathsAdding and subtractingYear 5

What is column addition?

Patrick pointing to a whiteboard with a sum broken up with columns under thousands, hundereds, tens and ones. The sum 2582 + 3956 equals 6538. Remainders of 1 below the answer numbers 6 and 5 under the Th and H columns.

The column method for addition is a good way to add large numbers.

It involves writing one number beneath the other so that the digits for each place value line up.

You then add the digits, starting from the ones column on the right-hand side.

If the two numbers in a place value column add up to ten or more, you must regroup. This means breaking a number up into tens and ones, or hundreds and tens, to help with the addition.

Patrick pointing to a whiteboard with a sum broken up with columns under thousands, hundereds, tens and ones. The sum 2582 + 3956 equals 6538. Remainders of 1 below the answer numbers 6 and 5 under the Th and H columns.
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Quiz: Add numbers with 4 digits or more together

Put your knowledge of adding 4 digit numbers to the test with this quiz.

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Adding with regrouping

If the two numbers in a place value column add up to ten or more, you must regroup.

This means breaking a number up into thousands, hundreds and tens to help with the addition.

Let's look at a question…

What is 34,523 + 3,291?

It can help to estimate the answer first by rounding the numbers up.

This is approximately 35,000 + 3,000 = 38,000.

Now let's find the answer using column addition.

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  1. Rohan stood on the left side pointing to a heading 'Step 1. Kevin stands on the right side looking thoughtful. Below are columns ten thousands (THS), thousands (TH), hundreds (H), tens (T) and ones (O). First row under the column headings are numbers 34523. The numbers are faded apart from '3'. + 329, the numbers are faded apart from 1. The answer row has number 4 under the ones column.

    Ones

    Start from the ones column: 3 + 1 = 4. Place a 4 in the ones column.

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Example 1

Anika holding up a board with 4 addition sums labelled A, B, C and D. Each has columns hundred thousand, ten thousand, thousand, hundreds, tens and ones. A is 312473 + 582614. B is 40385 + 5962. C is 123829 + 54925 and D is 201435 + 12024.

Which of these does not need regrouping?

Can you answer this without having to solve the calculations?

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Example 2

Lucy holding a piece of chalk against a blackboard. The sum 27342 + 22812 = 49154

Lucy thinks that 27,342 + 22,812 = 49,154. Is she correct?

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